September 1940
The first days of September 1940 were a critical turning point in the so-called Battle of Britain. British RAF and German Luftwaffe were engaging in lethal dogfights over the Channel daily and yet the was no clear indication of who would emerge victorious. The germans were supreme in tactical planning, keeping the RAF on the defensive. The RAF however managed to keep deploying squadrons of aircrafts precisely where they were needed, thus saving resources. The one device that enabled RAF to stay operational during this several weeks long onslaught was AMES-1 (also known as Chain Home), an array of radars that was capable of detecting enemy aircrafts over the Channel and pinpoint their position and bearing with great accuracy. The AMES-1 was no secret for the Germans; they just had no means to work around it. The only way to avoid the radar was to fly dangerously low (and thus stay within a "radar shadow "), or fly over the controlled zone which was a feat only several aircrafts were capable of. November 1940 however was the month when the stalemate was broken. September 6, 1940 Gösta Caroli , a german agent of Swedish origin was dropped over Northamptonshire. A faulty strap on his equipment caused him to lose his radio during the drop, which rendered him unable to contact the Germans and obtain orders which, for safety reasons, were withheld from him until he could report a successful drop. September 8, 1940 With no orders and no means of contacting his command, Gösta Caroli decided to improvise and make the best use of his presence in Britain. At the time, the aerial battles over the Channel were at their peak and it was obvious that Britain's radar equipment was the major advantage of RAF over Luftwaffe. Only with the information supplied by radars were the British capable of detecting incoming Luftwaffe aircrafts and deploying RAF units into correct areas in time. With most of his equipment gone, Gösta Caroli traveled light and managed to make his way to south of England where the critical part of Chain Home was located. Gösta Caroli made an assessment of the task before him during the night from September 7 to 8. He managed to overpower an elderly guardsman at the Betchworth Hearthstone Quarry and obtain several packages of explosives. September 10, 1940 Equipped with explosives and timed fuses, Gösta Caroli rigged the main telephone line, a telephone central in Ashford, as well as several power lines, and managed to destroy them. He subsequently managed to evade a pursuit and, dressed in a stolen farmer's garb, made his way to Folkestone where he had hoped to find a boat and make it over the Channel to Germans-controlled France. September 11, 1940 After an unsuccessful attempt on stealing a ship, Gösta Caroli barricaded himself inside Folkestone Report and Control Center under the Town Hall. There he took the currently present personnel hostage using their own weapons, before locking them up inside a small room. The hostages were cartographist Joan Holloway, Chief Inspector Michael Butcher and Lt. Walter Bateman (executive officer in charge of the center). The british Army tried to storm the Report and Control Center but were forced to retreat when Gösta Caroli threatened to kill the hostages and blow up the entire building. To the Army's knowledge, he had the means to make good on his threats. Hence they came up with a different plan: to prolong the situation long enough to tire Gösta Caroli and launch a stealthy attack during one of his involuntary sleeps. They didn't count on Gösta Caroli's decision to sacrifice his life in order to fulfill his mission. While the british Army waited, Gösta Caroli worked on his last radio transmission, and on enabling the radio within the Center to contact the german Command. September 12, 1940 "To all my German brothers at the other side of the Channel, I bid my farewell and offer the gift of my life for our Belief. Only by forfeiting my life I can send you this joyful news: the enemy's eyes over the Channel have been blinded and ears deafened. Now there is nothing that stands between our brave pilots and final victory. Heil Hitler!" These words were heard by dozens of radio operators both in Britain and coastline France on September 12 from 14:04 to 14:19. By the time the news of the transmission reached the German Intelligence Service, Gösta Caroli was dead, killed by several mortal gunshot wounds that he suffered while relaying his message and defending the radio room. September 13, 1940 It took several hours for the German Intelligence Service to verify authenticity of the transmission. Once it was verified, the Luftwaffe launched a stealth reconnaisance flight to confirm the relayed information. The flight was a great success. Not only did the RAF not react to approaching aircrafts, but the flight returned with unique aerial photographs of technicians working hard on repairing the damage caused on the communications. A quick decision to launch a major offensive was made by Hermann Göring and his staff. On the night of September 1 to September 12, the Luftwaffe managed to destroy many field airports throughout the south of Britain and deploy a number of specially trained agents who's task was to leverage Caroli's surprise success. September 15, 1940 The final offensive, supported by agents who managed to keep the AMES-1 blind and mute, ended on September 5, 1940. The RAF was decimated and Britain was left without aerial defense. Invigorated by this unexpected turn of events, Adolf Hitler orders immediate execution of Operation Sea Lion . September 21, 1940 In the late hours of September 21, the Luftwaffe has executed a mass drop of over 10.000 Stormtroopers over south of England. There is no chance for civilians and local forces to defend against the elite Stormtroopers. A major part of the 10.000 troops were dropped in vicinity of Dover and they took the town by surprise. Dover managed to resist several hours but, after a final push, it fell. Other towns and places didn't last even that long. By the dawn of next day, most of the southern shore was in german hands. September 22, 1940 Only hours after this victory the German Army has moved. Over 80.000 troops and 4.000 armored transports and tanks made their way across the Channel in three divisions: Dover, Brighton, and Salisbury. Mounting a surprise attack, german troops push the frontier towards London even before the British Army manage to mobilize. September 23, 1940 British Army finally mounted a counter-offensive but it was met with superior force. Devoid of any air support, lacking of ammunition, and ordered around by confused chain of command, British Army were forced to pull back and leave wide areas of country to the enemy. In response to this, the Luftwaffe ran a carpet-bombing of central London. Winston Churchill was killed during this attack by a bomb that accidentaly hit the building of the Military High Command. September 25, 1940 In the following days, British Army had pulled back to Worcester where they attempted a final stand. Meanwhile the Royal family secretly boarded one of the last transatlantic boats bound for Canada and left the country. Category:History Category:Britain Category:Operation Sea Lion Category:Year 1940